Magnolia Cemetery is a historic
rural cemetery
A rural cemetery or garden cemetery is a style of cemetery that became popular in the United States and Europe in the mid-19th century due to the overcrowding and health concerns of urban cemeteries, which tended to be churchyards. Rural cemeter ...
in
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...
.
The first board for the cemetery was assembled in 1849.
Edward C. Jones served as the architect. It was dedicated in 1850;
Charles Fraser delivered the dedication address. It was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
as a Historic District in 1978.
[
The location of the cemetery had previously been a plantation known as Magnolia Umbra, the house of which was described as a newly built house with five rooms in 1820. The cemetery was constructed during 1850, on plans laid out by Edward C. Jones, and included a Gothic chapel also designed by Jones which no longer exists. The chapel, which was located near the central lake, remained under construction until early 1851. Both the chapel and the porter's lodge sustained very heavy damage during the cemetery's occupation by federal forces during the Civil War. The porter's lodge at the entrance was demolished in 1868, but the chapel continued to be used until at least 1876.
According to a 1909 newspaper account, "There is a rule in Charleston that colored people shall not be allowed to parade through Magnolia cemetery, the principal burying place of the white citizens," and this exclusion policy was enforced regardless of social status, such as in the case of Dr. Crum being prohibited from driving through the cemetery.
]
Notable interments
* William Aiken, Jr.
William Aiken Jr. (January 28, 1806 – September 6, 1887) was an American politician, statesman, Planter class, planter, and Southern Unionist who served as the List of Governors of South Carolina, 61st governor of South Carolina from 1844 to 1 ...
(1806–1887), US Congressman, South Carolina Governor
* John Bennett (1865–1956), author and illustrator
* Thomas Bennett, Jr. (1781–1865), Governor of South Carolina
* William H. Brawley (1841–1916), U.S. Representative from South Carolina and United States federal judge
* Sallie F. Chapin (1830–1896), organized the Charleston Woman's Christian Temperance Union in 1881, the first in the state and served as first State president in 1883
* Langdon Cheves
Langdon Cheves ( September 17, 1776 – June 26, 1857) was an American politician, lawyer and businessman from South Carolina. He represented the city of Charleston in the United States House of Representatives from 1810 to 1815, where he played ...
(1776–1857), American politician and a president of the Second Bank of the United States
* James Conner (general) (1829–1883), Confederate general in the American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
* George E. Dixon (1837–1864), Commander of the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley
* Frank Bunker Gilbreth, Jr. (1911–2001), author
* William J. Grayson (1788–1863), U.S. Representative from South Carolina
* Wilson Godfrey Harvey (1866–1932), Governor of South Carolina
* J. C. Hemphill (died 1927), journalist and editor
* John Edwards Holbrook
John Edwards Holbrook (December 31, 1796 – September 8, 1871) was an American zoologist, herpetologist, physician, and naturalist, born in Beaufort, South Carolina, the son of Silas Holbrook, a teacher, and Mary Edwards. Although Holbrook's memo ...
(1796-1871), Ichthyologist, Herpetologist, and Physician
* Daniel Elliott Huger (1779–1854), US Senator from South Carolina
* Horace Lawson Hunley (1823–1863), Confederate marine engineer, developer of early submarines
* Micah Jenkins (1835–1864), Confederate general
* Mitchell Campbell King (1815–1901), physician
* George Swinton Legaré (1869–1913), U.S. Representative from South Carolina
* Hugh S. Legaré (1797–1843), 16th U.S. Attorney General
* William Turner Logan (1874–1941), U.S. Representative from South Carolina
* Andrew Gordon Magrath (1813–1893), South Carolina Governor
* Burnet Rhett Maybank (1899–1954), US Senator, South Carolina Governor
* John Darlington Newcomer (1867–1931), American architect
* Ziba B. Oakes (1807–1871), slave traderRobert Rhett
Robert Barnwell Rhett (born Robert Barnwell Smith; December 21, 1800September 14, 1876) was an American politician who served as a deputy from South Carolina to the Provisional Confederate States Congress from 1861 to 1862, a member of the US H ...
(1869–1913), U.S. Representative and Senator from South Carolina
* Roswell S. Ripley (1823–1887), Confederate general
* William Gilmore Simms (1806–1870), poet, novelist and historian
* Charles Henry Simonton (1829–1904), Confederate Colonel and federal judge on 4th Circuit Court of Appeals
* Julius Waties Waring (1880–1968), United States federal judge linked to the American Civil Rights Movement.
* Richard Smith Whaley (1874–1951), U.S. Representative from South Carolina
* British war graves of five Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
and Merchant Navy personnel of World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
CWGC Cemetery Report, details obtained from Casualty Record.
Gallery
Image:Magnolia Cemetery Charleston.jpg, Magnolia Cemetery in Charleston, South Carolina
Image:Wm B Smith Monument.png, Wm B Smith Monument, one of the most unusual and striking crypts at Magnolia Cemetery in Charleston, South Carolina
Image:Unknown Confederate States Navy Markers.png, Unknown Confederate States Navy Markers
Image:16 20 146 hunley.jpg, H. L. Hunley (submarine), H.L. Hunley Memorial Marker
File:Magnolia Cemetery Chapel.jpg, The chapel at Magnolia Cemetery
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
*
{{Authority control
Buildings and structures completed in 1850
Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina
1850 establishments in South Carolina
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina
National Register of Historic Places in Charleston, South Carolina
Geography of Charleston, South Carolina
Tourist attractions in Charleston, South Carolina
Protected areas of Charleston County, South Carolina
Cemeteries in Charleston, South Carolina
Rural cemeteries
Cemeteries established in the 1850s